


False Reflection

by risquetendencies



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bakeneko!Kenma, Bakeneko!Kuroo, M/M, Mystery, Older Characters - Apart From Hinata & Natsu, Supernatural Investigators, Supernatural violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risquetendencies/pseuds/risquetendencies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For as long as he's lived with and loved Bokuto, Akaashi has been entangled in the supernatural world. Having the summer off from work doesn't change that fact. When a pair of unruly cat spirits start tormenting the Hinata family in their new home, the two of them are called in to rid the house of the nuisance. But are they seeing where the true danger lies?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin, a heads up! 
> 
> This fic is the paired story to [@Kaiyou](http://kaiyouchan.tumblr.com/)'s "[Mirror Mirror](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7902586/chapters/18051541)" which tells everything from the KuroKen perspective. Check it out for their POV and a lot more juicy backstory on the cats' lives in the house. As for the rest of the team, I was lucky to have two amazing artists illustrating the story, [@kasas-art](http://kasas-art.tumblr.com/) and [@bo-cute-o](http://bo-cute-o.tumblr.com/). Please go check out their art, it's beautiful.
> 
> And with that out of the way, enjoy the fic!

**. . . . .**  

 

Shouyou was bad at hide and seek.

Peering out through the woven wicker walls of the cabinet, Natsu searched for any sign of her brother closing in. But each time she peeked, the living room was empty and an immoveable silence continued to layer thickly over the space. The last she’d heard was Shouyou counting down before she’d flown out of the kitchen to find a spot to hide and that seemed like ages ago.

She fidgeted in the cramped space, sucking in a labored breath. It was stifling sitting inside the cabinet, hunched over so that she didn’t bang her head on one of the upper shelves. It was also dark, but that fact bothered her little.

Their new house was enormous compared to the last one. It had a second floor and an attic even, and gardens that surrounded the home as far as the eye could see. It should’ve been nice, but somehow it wasn’t.

Being cooped up where she was somehow felt safer than roaming through one of the many overlarge rooms.

Next time, she’d have to ask if they could play their game outside.

Shouyou and she had been playing hide and seek for a while today, but he’d had yet to find her. It was boring, waiting to be found, and she’d already beaten him by claiming the best hiding spot. Now she wanted to try finding him instead.

Swinging open the door in front of her, Natsu took another glance around the room before crawling out of the cabinet. Darting across the living room, she then checked up and down the main hallway before venturing into it.

There was always a good spot to hide under Shouyou’s bed, and it was one of the few places he remembered to try when he was seeking, but she’d have to go upstairs for that. And she wasn’t exactly sure where he was. Even if she was ready to be found, she didn’t want to lose by getting caught while changing spots.

Still, it was quiet, so he couldn’t be nearby.

Taking careful steps, Natsu walked deeper into the house, unconsciously looking this way and that as she went.

It wasn’t until she was near the stairs that she paused, a gleam of pale silver catching her attention. Tilting her head, she gazed up at the mirror on the wall. It was too high for her to see her reflection in it, but the glass wasn’t empty.  A boy’s face stared back, his golden eyes trained downward unblinkingly, and his lips set in a flat line.

Pinpricks of confusion shot through Natsu and she hurriedly looked around only to find herself alone in the room.

All the muscles in her neck protested as she slowly turned back, her eyes pinching stubbornly shut. Nothing will be there, she thought fervently, because he isn’t real.

Opening them, she was confronted with the same emotionless façade.

Natsu squeaked and recoiled to the other wall, her hands balling into fists at her sides. The boy in the mirror tilted his head to one side, and then back. His lips curled at the corners, and then all his features were simultaneously fading, losing color and substance until they dissipated entirely.

On her side of the hall, Natsu shielded her eyes with her hands, shoulders trembling and knocking back against the wall behind her. She was terrified, but her feet didn’t want to move. All she could do was refuse to look anymore.

What if the mirror boy came back?

Mom wasn’t home yet from work, and she didn’t know where Shouyou was if he was still looking for her inside the house. For all she knew, he’d wandered off to talk to his new friend. The one Mom said he was making up stories about. And forgotten all about finding her in the process.

Sometimes Shouyou forgot things. But he hadn’t ever forgotten her before. Was his new friend that fun to play with that he might’ve forgotten this time?

Letting her shoulders droop, Natsu dropped her hands as well.

If he wasn’t coming for her, then she’d have to look for him. Maybe he’d seen the mirror boy too-

Her eyes honed in on the glass nervously, but it was pristine.

A sigh trickled out from her lips, a gesture that proved short-lived as from the edges inward, the mirror blackened.

A shadowy, shapeless form appeared within it, flickering inside the glass for a few tense seconds. Glowing eyes and a mouth slashed their way into existence afterward, the smoky tendrils tearing apart into a feral grin.  

A scream bubbled in Natsu’s throat, her only instinct to put space between it and her. Scrambling toward the stairs, she fled. 

 

**. . . . .**

 

 

**. . . . .**

 

Throughout his commute home - the train ride over from the university, the walk to the complex, even climbing up the three flights of stairs to their apartment - Keiji had felt tense. His mind had been locked in the same mode it had been all day while giving his lectures, finalizing grades, and entertaining the final questions from his more ardent students before politely ushering them out the door. All business, and nothing left over to think about the fact that it was the last day of spring term.

It didn't hit him until he was through the front door and shrugging off his cardigan.

He was on vacation. The next few months would find him doing nothing more work-related than reading through his favorite folklore books, but it would be for pleasure, not research. He could sleep in, have leisurely lunches, relaxing baths, and walks in the park a few blocks down. There would be nothing stopping him from enjoying the summer the way that he chose. No deadlines, no alarms in the morning, and no impromptu tutoring sessions.

Inhaling deeply, Keiji hung up his sweater inside the hall closet. It was then that his ears attuned enough to catch the sound of the television coming from the next room over.

Well, there might be one person who could affect his plans, he corrected himself. But that was a year-round fact, not just on holidays.

Turning, he headed for the living area.

Sure enough, Bokuto was parked on one end of the sofa, watching what, alarmingly enough, looked like the evening news. Keiji wrinkled his nose slightly. It wasn't what he'd come to expect from his lover, but there surely was a reason behind it to be uncovered. He'd just have to ask.

Bokuto glanced at him as he sat down on the opposite end, lips immediately widening in a grin. Reaching across with the hand not occupied by the remote, he placed it over Keiji's.

"Hey, welcome home!"

"Thank you," Keiji started slowly, shooting a pointed look at the television. "You're watching this, Bokuto-san?"

"Yeah! I'm trying to catch the weather, but they're talking about all this other stuff instead."

It still didn't answer the question of why, but it was a start.

"Give it time and they'll circle back to the weather."

"How long?"

"Normally just a few minutes."

"Huh, I must've missed it earlier when I went to get a snack. Bad timing."

"Is there any particular reason you want to know?"

"I wanna know if it's gonna be sunny or not! Here in the city, out in the country..." Bokuto trailed off, volume dimming with the last part of his statement.

Keiji's expression narrowed.

"Where out in the country?" he asked, unable to keep the stern edge out of his tone.

"...Miyagi, maybe."

A tiny sigh gusted forth.

Realistically, he'd known that he wouldn't be able to lounge around all summer, but having something to do right off the bat was throwing him. If he was more generous, he might have given Bokuto the benefit of the doubt that he was planning some surprise trip, but unfortunately Keiji knew him better than that.

Thus, he had a feeling he knew what they'd be doing in Miyagi.

It wasn't a terrible way to pass the time. They'd been working on cases together almost from the exact time they'd met back in college, when Bokuto was a regular guest to his folklore studies class.

His professor had been acquainted with Bokuto thanks to the time he'd helped him rid his house of a particularly stubborn spirit, and had invited him to talk to the students on numerous occasions. Despite having no affinity for detecting or dealing with the supernatural in a practical sense, the two of them had clicked, and eventually he'd been dragged into his first exorcism with Bokuto.

"You didn't sign up to teach any summer classes, right?"

Keiji shook his head.

Then, for the first time, he felt Bokuto looking at him carefully, gaze sweeping over his expression, body language, everything. It seemed to give him pause, because he didn't volunteer any more of his plan for a while. Instead he watched, and was likely deliberating over what he was observing. Perhaps trying to anticipate how he should bring up the job.

Keiji didn't bother letting on that he'd already guessed where the conversation was headed. While he wasn't thrilled, he wasn't against it either.

The sofa protested then as Bokuto scooted closer to him. An arm slid around the width of his shoulders and Keiji gratefully leaned against his partner, momentarily indulging in his warmth. The scent that clung to his skin from his cologne, and the solidity of his body. His Bokuto was strong, but disarmingly tender on the inside. It was one of his greater traits.

"So," Bokuto began, drawing out the word, "What would I have to do to convince you to take care of a spirit or two with me in the country?"

Keiji's lips curled into a vague smile. The truth was, nothing. He'd joined him on many of these endeavors over the years, and that wasn't likely to change. They could be intriguing and besides, he felt better knowing he could guarantee Bokuto's welfare personally rather than waiting on the sidelines and hoping he came back to him in one piece.

Still, he was open to a little persuasion. 

"What would be the benefit of this job?" he relented.

Bokuto's smile etched itself wider on his face at the opportunity to convince him.

"Well, it would be fun! We haven't gone in a trip in a while, huh? It'll probably be nice out in the country, and not so hot as being here in the city. Last, but not least, I'll be there, which is the best part!"

Keiji rolled his eyes in a mostly good-natured way.

"Be serious, Bokuto-san."

In return, he was squeezed tighter to his lover's side, Bokuto laughing at his own remark. A moment or two of snuggling later, he finally seemed to circle back to the original question.

"Oh yeah, there's a hot springs in the town we'd be going to! You wanted to go to one before, I remember that. It could be relaxing at night when we're not working."

Keiji's hand drifted, and he drew one finger along the other man's chest absently before looking him in the eye.

"That does sound interesting," he commented lowly.

"That got your attention, huh?" Bokuto returned his stare. His free hand ensnared Keiji's roving one, linking their fingers together.

It was at that point that Keiji decided he wasn't actually concerned about the specifics, but more focused on the man in front of him.

Keiji drank in the soft tufts of hair that were starting to succumb to gravity on either side of Bokuto's head, his relaxed posture, the eager smile on his face. The same smile that had warmed his heart on so many occasions in the past.

There wasn't really any other answer but to follow him. Any objections he had weren’t important; the positives far outweighed the negatives. Besides, he had other objectives on his mind at the moment.

"All right, I suppose we can take on the case," he relented, eyes darkening as he stretched forward to mouth at his lover's neck.

Bokuto shivered but angled his head to give him more room as Keiji slowly trailed kisses lower, pausing at where his pulse was thundering through the skin. There he upped the pressure, sucking hard until blood rushed forth to paint the area red.

"Really? That's ok-ay-," Bokuto stumbled over the word as he was nipped at, "with you?"

"So long as we take time to relax as well," Keiji specified, moving lower. Then any tension vanished with an incredulous laugh.

Bokuto looked down, catching just the smallest lift of the other man's lips before he ducked again, resting his head on Bokuto's chest.

"Is this your paint, or one of the children's paint?" Keiji wondered aloud, indicating a partial, blue handprint smudged near the collar of Bokuto's shirt.

"Oh, that? Might be one of the kids, I think. They were all kinda messy today. We were painting families and a couple of them wanted me to hold them after, at story time. So who really knows?"

"You're incredible," he gusted out, unable to hold back his amusement. "No more jobs after this one for a while, though, Bokuto-san. I would prefer to actually spend some of my summer vacation on vacation."

Keiji tipped his head back so their gazes could meet. He shot his lover a stern glance and then waited to see what effect it would have.

Bokuto smiled innocently, as if the reality that they'd be working for the next week wasn't his doing. 

"Deal!"

Whether or not he could deliver on that compromise remained to be seen, however. Keiji, for one, would believe it when he saw it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Paired Fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7902586/chapters/18051541) | [Tumblr](http://risquetendencies.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**. . . . .**

 

"I can drive on the way back home, right? Or around town?"

"We'll see about that, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto bounded around the side of the car, face sporting a despondent look. "But that means no," he whined quietly to himself as Keiji clicked the button on the key ring to lock the doors.

"Generally I think it's better to let someone who won't get distracted by their surroundings be behind the wheel," Keiji commented.

He calmly stored the keys in his pocket, ignoring the pouting session that ensued beside him. It would pass as soon as there was a worthy distraction, which in this case would be meeting their clients. Bokuto enjoyed meeting clients - he was at his core an extrovert, and basked in interacting with the wide array of people needing their assistance.

And all but the crankiest clients liked Bokuto.

"It was a really cool tree spirit though," his companion chimed in. "I wish we could've stopped to talk to it. I wonder how old it was!"

Somewhere around the midpoint of their drive into the countryside, they'd passed through a forested area teeming with different nature spirits. Needless to say, Bokuto had been enthralled, keeping up a running commentary of what he saw as they traveled on. Half the time, he'd had his face pressed tight against the passenger side window, at least until he remembered it could be rolled down.

As someone who required absolute focus while driving, Keiji had been less enthused at the prospect of his significant other chattering loudly with his head sticking out of the side of the car. Especially when none of what Bokuto was talking about was remotely noticeable to him.

He simply didn't have the same abilities. Or senses, to be more accurate.

Given his educational background, he knew all and possibly more of what Bokuto knew about various spirits, demons, and otherworldly beings. But unless the entity wanted to make itself seen, they were always invisible to him. During their jobs it was a frequent problem, and all he could do was rely on Bokuto's instructions sometimes.

When they'd first worked together all those years ago, he'd often wondered if he was useful in those endeavors at all. He could be another voice when chanting protective spells or exorcising spirits, but he wasn't born to it.

Bokuto had grown up seeing all of those unusual things. He'd befriended more benevolent yokai as a child. He was a bit otherworldly himself, in Keiji's opinion.

Bokuto was suited for the task. Early on, Keiji hadn't thought that he could contribute anything.

Years later, only the occasional doubt lingered. He'd learned a lot of techniques that helped to bridge some of the gaps in his capabilities. He was versed in all of the spells that he could possibly cram into his brain. His intuition was well, not approaching Bokuto's still, but it was far better than it once was. Even if he trended toward being more logical than intuitive.

"We would have been late in arriving if we did."

"True."

Bokuto straightened up beside him, looking thoughtful. "I hope the ones here are neat," he opined as he glanced around the property.

They'd parked a little ways down from the house itself, which was the only one around for a while. The road leading up to it was well-worn dirt, smoothed over by ages of foot and vehicle travel. There were even established lines that stretched down the pathway from old tire tracks. A lofty wooden fence encircled the building and surrounding garden, separating it from the nature beyond.

Slowly, they started making their way toward the front gate, walking along the edge of the road. Keiji allowed himself to zone out a little, mentally ticking off the list of questions he had in mind to ask their client about the haunting. So far he only knew bits and pieces through his partner; he hadn't actually gotten to speak to the woman yet himself. There were several gaping holes in his understanding, and so far, he hadn't bothered trying to guess what sort of spirit might be behind the disturbance.

It could be any number of things.

A slight movement caught his eye as they passed the vacant lot next door. There was a large gray rock in front of a patch of trees. Looking closer, he saw a band of lighter gray coiled on top of the rock - a snake, he realized. He was glad that the rock was far enough away from the road that they wouldn't be going near it. It was unusual to see one in this area as far as he knew - but he wasn't an expert in animal habitats for mortal beings. Just the supernatural ones.

Still, he could have sworn the creature lifted its head at the sound of them traipsing past. Probably a normal reaction to environmental stimuli, but the movement was the smallest bit unnerving. He was grateful when, in the next instant, he was tugged away from the thought by an excited intake of breath from the man walking in front of him.

Bokuto turned to him with a broad smile before nodding his head toward the front yard beyond the fence.

Two children were playing in the grass, the boy grimacing while placing the doll he was holding into a cardboard box marked "JAIL" in crayon letters. His sister held a different doll, that one wearing a princess gown in bubblegum pink and a wand in one hand. She seemed delighted by the turn of events, grinning toothily at her brother and bouncing in place.

Children. Of course it was children that had him eager.

Keiji's lips curled at the corners for a second before he resumed his neutral expression. Bokuto had always had an affinity for them too, for as long as he'd known him, and it had translated into a career. Though from the looks of it, the children here were older than the ones his other half taught in pre-school. Not that it was putting a damper on his enthusiasm any.

They let themselves in through the gate, earning a glance from the kids nearby. The girl seemed puzzled by their appearance, but the boy quickly scrambled to his feet before sprinting over.

"Are you the ghost hunters?" he blurted out.

"Yeah, that's us!" Bokuto answered happily, leaning forward. "Hopefully after we're done, they won't bug you anymore."

The boy looked between them both, his wide brown eyes pausing on Keiji for a moment longer than they did with Bokuto. His face scrunched in concentration, a thousand thoughts flitting across his features that were too fast to make sense of. A moment later, he decided on his words.

"I know Natsu's scared of them," he began, and then defiantly, he continued, "but they're not bad spirits! One of them is my friend!"

Just then, a new voice injected into the conversation.

"Shouyou, what are you shouting about now?!"

Keiji turned his gaze toward the front of the house, where a woman was standing on the porch, looking harried. Unlike the two children, who possessed vivid orange locks, her hair was a mousy shade of brown and styled in a chin-length bob. Her eyes were as warm as theirs, but currently hers were more aflame with annoyance than any kinder emotion.

The woman strode down the steps to where they were gathered, stopping next to her son.

"I'm sorry about this," she apologized, "For some reason, he's been claiming that he's talked to the _spirits_ in the house."

Keiji noticed that she placed a disbelieving emphasis on 'spirits.' The observation made him wonder why she'd called them if she was truly skeptical of their existence. Then again, she was far from the first client that they'd had who didn't want to believe things of such an ethereal nature could be real. Usually it was a fear of the unknown and uncontrollable that fueled their skepticism.

"Well, maybe he has!" Bokuto said earnestly.

Stepping forward, Keiji laid a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. As much as he agreed it was possible, now was not the time to upset the client before they had even secured the job.

Bokuto stood down at the gentle reminder, glancing briefly at Keiji before he spoke again.

"I mean, maybe he believes he has," he corrected himself, sounding a little remorseful as his eyes wandered toward the boy.

The woman ruffled Shouyou's hair. "That's enough. Watch your sister while I talk to these two, please."

Shouyou sulked, leaning away from his mother's hand and huffing. "Okay, Mom," he muttered before turning around and walking back to his former spot on the lawn.

"So, as you can see, my kids are convinced there's something living in the house with us," she began again, hands lowering to her hips. "It's an old house, so I kind of expected noises and quirks to come along with it when I bought it, but I think we'll all rest better once you two take a look around." She paused then, blinking as something occurred to her.

"Oh, I guess we should do introductions, huh? I'm Hinata Sumiko. I also kind of know one of you already... I'm acquainted with your aunt, Bokuto-kun. And well, you look a great deal like her," she finished, grinning.

"Yeah! I'll have to thank her for the referral!"

"...Your aunt?" Keiji couldn't help but ask.

Bokuto came from a rather large family, and while the majority of them were similarly friendly and vivacious, there were a few exceptions. Exceptions as in there were aunts and uncles whom he had met during the holidays as Bokuto's partner, and some he'd met as his roommate.

"The one who sent us the plum jelly last fall."

One of the first group, then, Keiji noted with a nod. Still, in most cases, introductions were difficult and mildly stressful. He never knew how he should go about them in personal situations. Work ones were simpler by far.

Stepping forward, he bowed. "Akaashi Keiji. It's nice to meet you, Hinata-san."

"Likewise. Should we go inside and talk about what the kids have said? I'm not really sure how this stuff is supposed to work."

"That's quite all right. But yes, as much information as you can give us would be helpful to our investigation."

With that, she led them inside.

The interior of the house greatly contrasted its exterior, which was that of a traditional home. White walls, dark wooden beams holding up a slanted roof, and other minimalistic touches. The garden surrounding the home was equally traditional, relying heavily on rocks and austere plant arrangements. There was the small lawn the kids had been playing on earlier though, so it was possible that not every part was in keeping with an older design.

Inside it was fresher, the oak floors light and the walls recently painted, perhaps when the seller had remodeled it to be sold off. There was also the usual clutter of everyday life with children that Keiji recognized from trips to Bokuto's workplace. Shoes and coats haphazardly discarded near the entrance, stray toys littered throughout as they neared the living room, and a few brightly-colored fleece blankets draped over the couch.

The three of them sat down, Bokuto and he taking the sofa and Sumiko a plush chair beside it. She crossed one leg over the other while sitting, and for a moment looked pensive.

"I'm trying to think when things started happening," she remarked at length. "I'm pretty sure it was the morning after we moved in."

"That soon?" Bokuto asked.

"Yes. So of course I thought it was one of the kids acting out. When we first got here, I know they weren't happy that we moved. They've made friends and things have gotten better, but initially they were upset at what they had to leave behind. They couldn't see what I see, which is that the city is no place for them to grow up."

Keiji nodded faintly, listening along. It wasn't unreasonable to think that, but things must have gotten worse for her to feel like she needed to do more. Especially considering she was unconvinced about it being a spirit causing mischief.

"That first morning, when I went to put sugar on my cereal, it had been switched out for salt. And I know it wasn't in the wrong container either. I'd put it in just the other night... and the ones for those two are very different looking. Not easy to mix up."

Sumiko gusted out a sigh, tapping the fingers of one hand on the chair.

"I know that probably seems silly. Such a little thing, and if it was just that, I wouldn't sweat living here at all. But then incidents kept piling up, and the kids had gotten used to living here, so I couldn't blame it on that anymore."

"I believe you," Bokuto chimed in reassuringly. "What else happened?"

"Different things with the kids. My daughter's clothes were messed up one day, turned inside out and put in the wrong drawers. She swore she didn't do it herself, and my son was playing with her at the time and said she didn't either. And I don't know why she would."

She paused for a moment, then launched back into her narration.

"Then there was that one night I thought Shouyou was sneaking around to play his video games. He claims there was a boy in our house using the console, and that he talked to him or something like that. That's who he's calling his friend," Sumiko left off, huffing slightly. "Apparently he's ran into him a few times."

"And there aren't any boys in the neighborhood it could be?" Keiji cut in.

"No, there's mostly seniors around here. I don't think there's any kids their age at all for a couple of miles. If there were, I could call their parents and ask why they think it's all right for their son to be trespassing in someone else's house. But probably Shouyou is just imagining it."

"Is there anything you have noticed yourself, Hinata-san? Or is it just the children who seem to be affected by these occurrences?" That fact alone could help narrow down the type of creature residing in the house. Children were all together more sensitive to the supernatural, and coincidentally, certain spirits were more drawn to seek children out, Keiji thought.

"Sometimes it sounds like there's something crawling around in the vents," she answered with a shrug. "But again, it's an old house, so there could be mice or whatever roaming around. As long as I don't see them, I'm fine with that."

"I see."

"Anyway, I think that's really... it? Mostly, I want my daughter to have some peace of mind. She's been pretty spooked by some of the sounds, and 'seeing' things around the house. I've got to at least try to do something about it. If it's only mice, that's fixable. If it's something else, well then hopefully that will be too."

Keiji nodded politely, but inwardly he had to think it was an overly practical opinion for her to have. Granted, most of the things he'd seen doing this work stretched his imagination far beyond what he could have ever envisioned, but now his worldview was broader. He knew by experience that there were forces at work that weren't seen and even less often understood. Sometimes they couldn't be dealt with by humans alone. 

"We'll do our best to make that happen for her," his partner spoke again. "And if it's mice, we could probably deal with that too. Maybe we could get a cat. Or lay mouse traps out for the little guys. I'd kinda feel bad though, so I guess an exterminator is probably better in that case..." Bokuto trailed off while looking pitiable. 

"Regardless," Keiji said, "we will get to the bottom of the matter." His eyes flickered toward Bokuto once again, making a mental note to reassess his mood later on. It didn't seem like anything serious, just a minor thought that had derailed his enthusiasm, but it could surface again in the event there _were_ such animals present. "So that you can continue enjoying your new home."

"Thanks. If it's all right, I'd planned on staying with my parents out of town for a couple of nights. Just to let Natsu calm down a little, and to let you do your work. I'll give you two a copy of the house key, so all I ask is that you lock up when you come and go."

"That sounds fine."

"Oh, yeah, there's one other thing I want to show you two before me and the kids head out."

Climbing out of her seat, Sumiko drifted back toward the hall. Keiji dutifully followed her as she led them into a nearby room.

Wall to wall shelving dominated the landscape once inside, books and various knick knacks laid out in every direction. A dark wooden desk and a pair of maroon armchairs stood to one side, a table with a brass lamp set in between. Of all the rooms so far that they'd seen, this space most clearly showed its age.

He could only begin to wonder what kind of person had owned all the treasures he saw before himself now. Whoever it was though, they hadn't been around to look after them in a while, judging by the forlorn feeling the room held. But, Keiji mused, most houses that outlived their original owners probably felt that way until a new inhabitant made their mark on it.

"This is cool!"

Bokuto bustled past him, striding into the room. After doing a quick look around, he turned back toward them and addressed their host.

"It's a library?"

"I guess the old guy who lived here before was some kind of... writer? I don't really know much about him other than that. And that's only because of what the realtor told me, sorry. I thought maybe you might find it interesting for your investigation. Or not, but there you go."

"No problem," Bokuto replied. "I hope your little girl feels better. We'll try to figure out what's going on, okay?"

Sumiko laughed lowly.

"Well, more power to you if you do. ...I'll be interested to see what you come up with. Bye now."

Stepping out of the library, she departed.

Once they were alone, Keiji sunk into a nearby chair, culling all the information he had to the front of his mind for analysis. Meanwhile, his partner orbited around the room, eagerly pulling books off the shelves to flip through them. His explorations made for an upbeat background soundtrack, replete with engaged noises and carelessly heavy footsteps.

Several unexplained incidents, most of them light nuisances apart from the one where the girl had been terrorized by seeing something in a mirror. That one had been retold to him by Bokuto, and it seemed to be the incident that most concerned the girl's mother. Was that the spirit escalating because its goal hadn't been met? Had it jumped from minor pranks to scaring the most vulnerable member of the household in an attempt to push the family out once and for all?

It was highly likely, unfortunately. A creature, or person, was living here and clearly they wanted the place to themselves bad enough to not choose the option of peacefully coexisting. But it hadn't begun in a violent way with how it worked on unnerving the people living in its home. That led him to believe it wasn't necessarily an evil entity.

Still there was always the option that things weren't as simple as what he was imagining-

"Akaashi!"

Lifting his head, Keiji came face to face with Bokuto. The other man glanced at him thoughtfully.

"Did you find something intriguing?" he spoke up, gambling that was the reason for the interruption - some book or artifact that Bokuto wanted to show him.

It was rare to come across such a large collection outside of a museum, and in those cases they normally couldn't examine the items themselves. In truth, Keiji was interested at giving them a more thorough look-over too, but after their ultimate job was done. It was even possible, given Hinata-san's seeming lack of enthusiasm toward the room, that they might be able to buy some of the artifacts from her in due time. But he was trying not to let himself get too settled on the notion.

"You," Bokuto responded, smiling.

Keiji sat back, shooting him a neutral stare.

"Please do explain yourself, Bokuto-san," he said, not leaving room for any further nonsense.

It wasn't really that he didn't enjoy it, or that Bokuto never had the capacity to be serious, but occasionally a little redirection was necessary to get them both on a professional page. They hadn't been working this case for long, and Keiji preferred that they at least made some headway on the first night of investigation.

Preferably a lot of headway, so that it could all be over soon and they could return to being on their summer break.

"You look like you've already got some ideas."

"A simple theory, no more."

Bokuto plopped himself down in the chair next to him.

"Okay, so what's the theory?"

His brows knitted together as he reconsidered his answer.

"It's more a few thoughts on what we can rule out. All of the pranks that Hinata-san described were just that - pranks. Nothing truly evil can be living here, or the situation would be more dangerous. But it's starting to do things to actively frighten them now, thus, the spirit has something driving them. Some reason they won't give up on. I think it must have lived here for a while, whatever it is, to want to stay so intensely."

"Makes sense."

"It's something intelligent, with a corporeal form, to be able to move things around like it has. So it can't be a ghost. Something with a human form if it's not one all of the time. I'm still not certain what exactly it is, though."

Wrapping up his observations, Keiji reclined back, waiting patiently as his partner soaked in his words. It wasn't much to go on yet, just a baseline to start from. But it was something, and he was relieved at realizing that whatever they were dealing with wasn't inherently malicious.

He wasn't equipped to fight well against those kinds of spirits, and he knew that he held Bokuto back in such encounters. Having to watch someone else's back while you were chasing something inhuman and supernaturally powered was a disadvantage. Especially when he himself could be exploited as a weakness.

A hand drifted upward, lightly grasping the leather braid hanging around his neck. On the end of it was a small wooden charm.

Useful as it was to have, he didn't want to need it ever again. Didn't want to repeat something like the incident that had prompted Bokuto getting the pendant for him, where his mind had been locked away and his body weaponized - it was the most incapable Keiji had ever felt. The memory wasn't one he enjoyed dwelling on, but whenever there was the prospect of them facing something much darker than a run-of-the-mill spirit, he couldn't help but to flash back to that time.

Blinking, he shook himself out of the recollection, and looked down. His other hand was still resting on the chair, but now Bokuto's fingers were tracing patterns on the top of it, drawing gentle, almost unnoticeable pressure over his skin. He tilted his head to the side, and the expression he received was more than worth addressing.

"I know... this isn't the same as then," Keiji said.

"But you always worry, right?" Bokuto echoed knowingly.

"That is my first reaction, yes. But my second one is that I trust you."

"And you're a lot stronger now, too, so there's that. Give yourself some more credit, Keiji."

His heart stuttered at the sound of his name being spoken. Sometimes, with some of the ways Bokuto said it, it served as its own consolation. The love and encouragement in it then was reviving.

Flipping over his hand, he laced their fingers together, earning him a joyful hum from the man beside him. Bokuto was both the simplest and the wildest variable in his life at any given moment, but his likes were easy and affection was near the absolute top of the list. 

"We might want to start looking around the house," he remarked lightly.

"I'll take this floor and you take the upstairs?"

Keiji's lips curled at the corners. At once, it was like every other job they'd ever worked together, with his partner claiming the more interesting bits for himself and him left to do the rest. As long as Bokuto stayed motivated, he was the best at what they did, so he didn't actually mind their arrangement. Still, it didn't hurt to light an additional fire under the man in question from time to time.

"All right. Just try and leave the library at some point. Slacking off will earn you consequences, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto wilted at the warning, looking reasonably apprehensive. 

He decided to leave it at that and stood up from his chair. Even if he was going to be stuck with the less appetizing rooms to search, he couldn't slack off either. Not until the source of the problem was identified and their work was concluded. And if by some chance the case-making clue was hidden away in one of his areas, well, that would be a pleasant surprise.

Even if he let Bokuto have his way most of the time when they collaborated, and even if Bokuto was more naturally talented, that didn't mean he wasn't competitive.

Quite the opposite in fact. 

**. . . . .**

 

Once at the top of the stairs, Keiji walked straight ahead to the first bedroom. The door was left wide open, and from the first impression he was given, it was clear that it was the boy's room.

Cornflower blue walls plastered in volleyball posters greeted him along with a small television and gaming unit. Apart from that, there was the desk against the wall, a window that let the warm breeze in and a severely unmade bed against one of the other walls. Several things were tangled amongst the sheets that he could see. A lone tube sock, a discarded shirt that might have been worn to bed last night, and a cat.

Keiji immediately circled back toward the bed.

Scrunched in between one of the pillows at the head of the bed and the nearest wall was the body of a small calico cat. It looked to be pressing itself into the corner as hard as it could, strangely golden eyes wide with apprehension.

To his knowledge, the Hinata family didn't own any pets. But it easily could have been a detail the mother had neglected to mention.

Extending a hand toward the timid animal, Keiji chose the softest tone he could muster. “Come here, little one,” he coaxed, taking care to remain completely still and show he wasn’t a threat.

The cat eyed him in what he could only describe as a skeptical way, tail coming up to lash anxiously at the air in the confined space it had wedged itself into. It stared back at him unblinkingly, seemingly waiting for him to make a move or to dive toward it. Cautious, that was another fitting label. Like it didn’t trust him.

Considering it, Keiji gained a few more doubts that it could be a cat of the household. The sheer energy of the children who lived here would likely petrify this cat if they came face to face. If it couldn’t warm up to his gentler efforts, it must have a wariness of humans in general.

Which begged the question, who did the cat belong to? And how did it end up where it was currently?

Pondering the question, he straightened up to his full height.

The movement was accompanied the frantic rustling of the cat skittering across the sheets and then the heavier sound of it leaping down to the floor. It hurried out the open bedroom door before Keiji could think to react, its stiffly-raised tail the last thing he saw flash around the corner before it completely disappeared.

He frowned.

Something bothered him about the fact that it was now running amok inside a house it didn’t belong to, but then again, it was only one small cat. How much damage could it reasonably accomplish if it were conscious enough to have such a goal? Little more than knocking something off a counter or shelf, probably.

Everything would be fine. Bokuto and he could track it down later and help it back outside if need be. It probably entered the house through an open window, so perhaps it would find a similar exit on its own while they did their job.

Letting the worry fade, Keiji was reminded of all the times Bokuto had tried to show him things on the internet with similar stories of cats turning up in places they weren’t meant to be. People coming home to cats in their houses that weren’t their own. The pictures were humorous in many instances, but they just went to show how common the phenomenon could be.

Like the one here.

Everything so far pointed to the cat being harmless, but he'd keep it in the back of his mind as he continued rooting around for clues. After all, they weren't sure yet what kind of spirit they were dealing with. What seemed like a normal cat might actually be something more.

Keiji walked around the room, carefully turning over pillows and books and various belongings as he looked for signs of damage. If his thoughts were on the right path, and the spirit possessed a body it could carry out pranks with, then it could easily leave behind physical traces too.

But the more he looked, the more pristine the room seemed apart from the kind of mess he expected from the boy. Like it hadn’t been messed with at all. At least, there wasn’t anything to raise his suspicions, and from what he knew, there hadn’t been any incidents in the boy’s room specifically.

Giving the space one final appraisal, Keiji backtracked to the hallway and moved on to the next bedroom.

It had soft, butter-yellow walls with all white furniture. Against the wall with the largest window a dollhouse was positioned on the floor, the back half opened toward the center of the room. Miniature pieces lay abandoned next to the house, plastic chairs and decorations for the interior.

He ran his hand along the dresser nearest him as he pondered the surroundings. Once again, his gaze drifted back to the dollhouse, and his heart tightened in his chest slightly.

These children, especially the little girl, were so young. Even if whatever was residing in the house wasn’t dangerous, it bothered him that they had to be terrorized at such an age.

Maybe if the problem was resolved, they’d forget most of this in time, as the years replaced memories of their childhood with fuzzier ones, but they might never fully erase that feeling of fear. Of being ill-at-ease in somewhere that was supposed to be safe, comfortable. Their home.

Keiji frowned, and shook his head to himself.

That would require him figuring out the mystery first. Think, he had to start thinking critically. What else could he discern from what they knew? What might it be that was living here also?

If he had to pare it down further based on the fact that this was a house, he’d lean more towards it being the ghost of a previous inhabitant, or some sort of domesticated animal.

But most pets, as he knew, normally passed on. Either to be with other pets in the afterlife, or to follow their masters there if they could. Rarely did they linger, and if they did, it was to wait for an owner that had never returned to them.

That might cause them to lash out at an intruder in the home, but the ghosts of animals were just that – ghosts. They wouldn’t have the physical body necessary to carry out the various incidents the Hinatas had experienced. Most weren’t hostile either, so it was unlikely that was the perpetrator they were searching for.

Which left him to consider the realm of creatures outside of ghosts. Most of which who were labeled demons. Yokai were fascinating to study, they were a large part of his knowledge base, but one thing he knew was that they could be expected to live in very specific locations.

Keiji couldn’t think of any that lived in a house like this as their natural habitat. There were creatures like _Futakuchi-onna_ , who evolved from human to demon out of circumstances. The wife of a stingy man who spent precious little on food, who later developed a second mouth on the back of her head to devour things in secret.

Trouble was, most of those examples were extreme, and none of the ones that came to mind were the type of yokai who would treat unsuspecting humans so gently.

There wasn’t any obvious answer.

Crossing toward the closet, he eyed the full-length mirror beside it. Like all of the mirrors in the house he’d seen since they’d arrived, it was covered with a long cloth to protect anyone from seeing into it. A precaution likely taken after the spirit had frightened the girl that one time.

He stepped closer, peeling back the sheet and raising it higher. It wouldn’t hurt to examine it closer, even if this wasn’t the exact same mirror.

The cloth was pulled up to the level of his neck when his attention was snagged by a series of tapping noises from above him. Keiji paused what he was doing, staring at the ceiling intently.

_“Sometimes it sounds like there's something crawling around in the vents.”_

That was one of the things Hinata-san had mentioned.

Intermittently, the noises ceased, only to carry on seconds after in a new location. Weighted sounds that did indeed sound like something was walking through the air shafts.

He wished he could investigate it, but the reality was, as a nearly six-foot-tall adult male, the chances of him being able to squeeze into one of the vents were astronomically low. And he doubted Hinata-san would agree to them bringing one of the walls down to access the interior of the house.

Still, the noises did make him wonder about the build, and where and into which rooms the vents fed into. Likely the majority of them, which made it a convenient way for the spirit to travel from place to place without being noticed. The question was, besides the bedrooms and rooms on the main floor, did the system extend to other spots where the spirit could hide itself away?

Keiji wished he had a blueprint of the house. Such visual aids had proved useful in previous cases when he could get ahold of them. There was a chance he could in this case, but he couldn’t be sure until the source he’d contacted before they left Tokyo got back to him.

All in due time, he thought, as he turned back to his exploration.

As he faced the front again, a new sensation rooted him to the spot. A fluttering against his sternum, barely there but impossible for him to ignore once his brain processed what it was.

In one fluid movement, he dropped the sheet he was holding to the floor and jerked his head back up toward the ceiling, hand elevating to reach for the wooden disc attached to his necklace. In the same second that he moved, the shaking curiously subsided.

Keiji didn’t hear any more noises from above, either. Whatever was there had clearly gone.

Exhaling, his fingers tightened around the charm, his body beginning to rid itself of the punch of adrenaline that had ignited in response. It was purely instinctual; it didn’t matter that it was the umpteenth time it had happened, or that the charm would protect him from most attempts at possession, or that he knew better how to defend himself.

Trauma stayed, even if the scar was chipped away at over time, smoothed over and nurtured into growing less prominent. He would probably always flinch, but that didn’t have to mean he had to be afraid anymore.

Just more cautious, perhaps.

Backing away, he decided then was as good a time as any to relay some of his new observations. He’d check in with Bokuto, share their findings, and they’d proceed from there.

Breathing a little more evenly, Keiji let his hand fall back to his side.

Sometimes there was a routine quality to their ever-dynamic profession that he greatly appreciated.

 

**. . . . .**

 

Unsurprisingly, he located Bokuto in the library. But, given the amount of time that had passed, Keiji supposed it wasn’t worth cracking down on. For all he knew, Bokuto could have been close to exploring other rooms and he’d caught him before he’d gotten the chance.

Instead, he was eying a scroll that was hung on the wall depicting some old tale, no doubt, though which one, Keiji couldn’t immediately identify. The ink was a little faded, but admirably rich still for all the wear and tear. When he saw him come in, it didn’t take more than a moment for Bokuto’s look to go from peaceful to questioning.

“That didn’t take long… you okay, ‘Kaashi?” he started, golden eyes raking him up and down.

Keiji schooled his features. He didn’t want to become a distraction. What had happened was unimportant apart from confirming his theory about the odd noises in the house.

“Fine, Bokuto-san. But I did come across a few things I wanted to tell you about.”

“Share away!”

“Well, there was a cat upstairs. I was wondering if it might have wandered by you as well,” he started to inquire. Though, engrossed as Bokuto had been with the scroll when he arrived, even if the cat had walked circles around his feet he wouldn’t have noticed.

“Nope, no cats here. Why, did it have a tail?”

“…It did.”

Bokuto’s eyes lit up. “You know what it could be then?” he posed, leaving an opening for him to guess.

Thoughts turned over in Keiji’s head, swirling and weighing until he came up with an answer. Though he was rather doubtful that it could be the catalyst to the entire mystery.

“A bakeneko, I’m assuming you mean? There are many cats in Japan with tails nowadays, Bokuto-san.”

“But at least _some_ of them are bakeneko!” he retorted with confidence. “We just might not always know at first.” Bokuto paused then, pondering a new thought. “Though, you were able to see this cat, huh?”

“Quite clearly I saw the cat,” Keiji confirmed dully.

“It still might be one,” his partner continued, undeterred. “And look at this scroll here, it’s about them!”

Keiji followed to where Bokuto was pointing and examined the artifact closer. A woman standing beside a kneeling man, a cat-like apparition suspended in midair between them.

His mind wanted to file it away as mere coincidence, but though there was a wealth of books and other figurines and objects on display inside the library, this was the only illustrated display, and it was placed centrally. Whoever the previous owner had been, they had favored the tale depicted. Possibly because the creature in the story wasn’t so foreign to them?

“That one is part of a revenge story,” Keiji spoke after a few more moments of deliberation. “Practically all of the stories containing bakeneko are, if they aren’t violent stories for some other reason. Most of them have the original cat being killed by a cruel owner, or a cat that comes back to a new life to avenge the death of their owner who was wrongfully killed.”

Bokuto listened attentively to him talk, nodding faintly along, but as sure as Keiji could tell that, he could also tell that it wasn’t affecting the opinion he’d formed. Shortly after he wrapped up his doubts that notion was proved correct.

“But they get that way in the first places because they’re older than any other cat. Not all of them have had something bad happen to them. Some of them are good,” he insisted.

“I’m just saying what I know from what I’ve read.” Keiji sighed.

It was times like this that he wondered if he leaned too heavily on his academic side, if he used it as a crutch at times when trying to make sense of the creatures they encountered. It was hard to grasp that they were forces of nature, that they could act differently to what was commonly written about them. He needed to be more flexible, he knew that, but putting it into practice was still something he was working on.

A large part of Bokuto’s strength, in his opinion, was his flexibility. His willingness to accept the wildest of circumstances, and to empathize with beings that had their own memories and aspirations that weren’t human, or weren’t living, in some cases. It made him able to see conclusions that Keiji wouldn’t have put together on his own.

“I know. Just, some of them might be pretty okay. They are cats after all, and some of them probably were happy in their cat life before they turned into a demon.”

“I understand, Bokuto-san. You’ve told me before about the yokai you would play with when you were younger. I suppose it’s always possible there are docile bakeneko residing here. But you would need to confirm that for me.”

“I could try and find the kitty you saw,” he suggested.

“That would be helpful,” Keiji agreed.

Putting out a hand, he stopped the other man before he could turn to fulfill that request, preventing him from leaving the room.

“But the cat wasn’t the only thing I noticed upstairs. I also heard some noises in the vents, similar to how Hinata-san described to us. In the midst of that going on… my pendant started shaking.”

That captured Bokuto’s attention, as he quickly bounded back over toward him with widened eyes.

“You think one of them was trying to possess you?”

“More… testing me, I believe. It was only for a moment, and then it was over. I think they might have been more curious about the pendant itself, if anything.”

Bokuto’s hand caressed over his shoulder.

“Should we look around the house together instead?”

A small part of him wanted to say yes, but the greater part protested that they could cover more ground, and that more than likely, Bokuto could be more focused on his work without him there.

“No,” he began to object, but he was swiftly interrupted.

“Keiji,” his lover whined, an entire volume laced within the single word.

The topic was one where it didn’t take much to set off Bokuto’s worries. Keiji knew he carried no small amount of guilt over the past, of not being able to protect him in that incident, but he didn’t place any blame on Bokuto. He knew he would do anything to protect him if he could. That wasn’t even a question, so if he could find some way to relieve him that sense of failed responsibility, he would in a heartbeat.

But for now all he could do was reassure him.

“I will be fine,” he emphasized softly, “I do want you to find that cat though, just to be sure of what it is. Be that a normal cat, or a bakeneko like you theorize.”

A hint of stubbornness persisted on Bokuto’s features, but he didn’t vocalize the feeling aloud. In the next second, their conversation was curtailed by a low buzzing from Keiji’s pocket.

He fished out his phone from within, holding it up to his ear.

“This is Akaashi,” he answered.

“Hello there again, this is Kinohara. I’m just calling to let you know we should have the materials you requested available to browse, if you’re able to come in today.”

“Ah, thank you.”

He was glad he hadn’t reached out for nothing, then. Sometimes there simply wasn’t documentation on a particular site. Before they’d set out for the countryside, he’d called ahead to the local library to see if they had the property records for the house and surrounding land. That way he could research the previous owners to see if that would give him any insight.

“I should be able to head over there shortly,” he added, making the decision that it wouldn’t affect anything they’d done so far. “I’m grateful for you looking into it for me, Kinohara-san.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he disconnected the call and returned his phone to its proper place.

Straightening up, he suddenly glimpsed intense, yellow eyes watching from above.

Looking closer, he noted the mottled fur, white, golden, and black all intermingled. Small paws perched on the edge of the top of the china cabinet.

The cat’s eyes magnified, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished. Almost as if it had never been there at all.

Keiji’s brows knitted, and he found himself walking closer to the cabinet on impulse. He stood up on his toes, grasping the top of it and peering into the empty space where the cat had been spying on them.

“What is it? Did you see one?!”

There was a vent built into the wall directly above the cabinet, which only made him more suspicious, but there were no lingering signs that anything had been sitting on top of it. Keiji sighed, lowering himself back down to ground level in defeat.

“It was probably nothing, Bokuto-san. After all, you didn’t see anything, did you?”

“Awww, but Akaashi! What if things have changed? What if you can see this spirit? What if he likes you!”

Shaking his head to clear the vision of triplicate twittering Bokutos that accompanied the rapid-fire questions, Keiji grimaced. Somehow Bokuto sounded a little too encouraged by the possibility. In any case, it didn’t matter. If his eyes hadn’t deceived him, then the cat was more than an ordinary animal, and with the other things he’d so far experienced, Keiji wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” he settled for saying.

Catching the pout on the other man’s face, he released another sigh.

“That was the library on the phone, though. I think they may have some information about the history of the house. Perhaps it would be more useful for us if you continued exploring the house, and I go check there? If there is a spirit here, I’m sure you’re much more likely to see it.”

Bokuto perked up at that idea rather quickly.

“Go ahead! I’ll find the kitty! …And the other things, if it’s not him that’s doing this,” he trailed off.

“Just be careful.”

Giving him another look, Keiji stepped closer, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

Bokuto might be strong, but that didn’t mean he didn’t experience the same worries Bokuto likely had about him from time to time.

Being a team came second. First and foremost, Bokuto was his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Paired Fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7902586/chapters/18051541) | [Tumblr](http://risquetendencies.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to update. I was, and still really am, suffering from crippling writer's block, so it was hard to even get this chapter written. I hope it meets expectations and isn't a disappointment in any way.

**. . . . .**

 

So far he’d made two different loops around the town, but it appeared he was going to have to settle for parking a few blocks away from the library and walking the remaining distance. Accepting his fate, Keiji found a spot for the car and eased in.

The village itself was quaint, with modern conveniences set into buildings from eras long past. It seemed like all the new businesses had endeavored to keep the old architecture intact rather than tearing it down to start anew.

While he enjoyed the look of it, he could have done with some upgrades to the way the roads were set up. With the abundance of one-way streets and buildings you could only reach on foot, it made navigating a little tougher than he was used to for someone who'd grown up primarily in Tokyo.

But he would manage.

Stepping out of the car, Keiji eyed the sparse crowd of people on the sidewalks. It was probably lucky that he'd come during the middle of the day, when most residents were absorbed in other tasks. The library would likely be empty as well, what with school being out of session. If he had any luck left on his side, it would be a fruitful trip.

Keiji strolled along the walkway slowly, letting himself get distracted here or there by the displays in the shop windows. One appeared to be an art gallery, judging by the decorative items front and center.

He paused in front of the display, examining a small figurine of an owl carved out of reddish wood. It had more of a fearsome, bird-of-prey expression rather than being cute, but he could only imagine that Bokuto would find it the latter anyway. And without a doubt if Bokuto laid eyes on it, it would end up in the apartment somewhere.

Perhaps he'd bring him back here later to look at it. After all, what was one more trinket compared to the collection his partner had amassed? Keiji wasn't much of a collector himself, so he couldn't say he understood the urge, but it made their home feel warmer and he had no objections against that outcome.

Straightening up again, a random impulse made him tilt his head to behind him on the sidewalk.

A pair of older women were clustered out front of a gardening shop, one of them regaling her companion with some story over a planter box filled with geraniums. Several other people were walking further back, seemingly moving around town like normal.

Nothing about any of them seemed remotely suspicious.

It had felt like someone had been staring at him, that was why he'd looked. And it could have been any of them glancing at him. There didn't have to be any ulterior motives in the action. It wasn't strictly polite to keep staring at one person for an extended length of time, but whoever it had been wasn't looking at him now. He was overthinking it.

He faced the front and continued on his path. Trekking along, he passed by a few more stores - a bakery, a bookstore, a boutique. Everything in the town seemed perfectly calm and normal.

But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something had eyes on him.

Brows knitting, Keiji scanned the buildings ahead of where he was. While most of the stores stood wall to wall with each other, there appeared to be a gap in between two of the upcoming stores. That would have to be his opportunity.

Quickening his pace, he slid into the narrow alleyway and leaned against the wall, waiting.

Whoever or whatever it was had to be close. When they passed by, that's when he'd confront them.

His heart peppered fiercely against his chest, and he could feel a snag in his breathing as he bided the seconds. It took a great deal of effort to remind himself to take the air in and not just succumb to the sensation of panic.

Truthfully, Keiji wasn't sure what he was dealing with. It could be mere paranoia, but even if he couldn't see a lot of the beings Bokuto and he worked around, over the years, he'd developed a sense for when they were close. When they were focused on him in particular. And right now it felt like more than just his imagination.

 _'Breath in, and then out,'_ he reiterated internally, listening carefully to the sounds surrounding him.

There were traces of music coming from the nearby shops, and the occasional exclamation from the children playing in the park across the way. But there were also the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Whether or not they were from what was tailing him he didn't know.

But either way, the chance to find out had arrived.

Steeling himself, he marched out of the alley, shoulders locked for confrontation.

Inches before him stood a young man. He was clearly spooked by Keiji's sudden appearance. The only features Keiji caught were his dark and light hair, and his wide, golden eyes before the stranger fled, running away from him at full speed. Something dropped from his grasp to the ground in the chaos, and Keiji was too surprised by the reaction to notice what it was at first.

Once left alone, he stared at the spot where the boy had been, puzzled.

He wasn't quite a kid, but he seemed younger than he was, and though just a fleeting one, he gave off a timid impression. Not the type of person to be causing trouble, or be a potential threat.

Nothing had been trailing him after all.

Keiji frowned, moving to pull at the fingers of his other hand one by one as he let his mind drift. He was disappointed in himself, primarily. Perhaps it was a sign that he needed to clear his head with this case. It would be inefficient if he was always making details out to be more than they were in reality.

The spirit occupying the Hinata's house lived there. It would have no reason to go anywhere outside of the property that it was so tenaciously trying to keep for itself. And at any rate, it wasn't particularly vicious. And if it was looking to attack them, it should know by now that Bokuto was who it needed to worry about as an opponent.

Which led to other, more disconcerting possibilities, but he couldn't afford to drown himself in worries at the present.

Bokuto would be fine. He always tended to overcome any looming obstacle with inexplicable ease. What Keiji needed to do now was research. That was his strength.

He let his hands fall back to his sides, and then glanced downward.

Laying on the ground was a gray, rectangular object. He stooped to pick it up, turning it over to examine it. A game cartridge.

Realizing that, he felt a pang of remorse for how he'd acted. Frightening some innocent teenager out on a walk, and making him drop this. And it wasn't like he could return it, given that the boy was a stranger. The best he could do was hand it over to the police later on as a lost and found item.

An unsatisfying solution to the problem, but he fully intended on doing just that. But only after his trip to the library, for he'd already wasted enough time that could have been better spent.

He just hoped that what he would find there would be enlightening.

 

**. . . . .**

 

“Hmm… won’t work on that one either.”

Koutarou took a step back from the hall closet, removing his hand from the doorknob. Like all the doors he’d encountered on the second floor, it didn’t have a lock. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember any of the doors downstairs having one apart from the front door of the house and the garden room. Since they both led outside, it made sense.

He hummed, glancing down at the key cupped in his palm. It wasn’t like a normal house key that he was used to seeing. The handle shape was different, rounded and not as slender as a modern key, and the color was a blackened, chipped brass.

It belonged somewhere inside the house. That much he was sure of. But where?

He’d found the key in the boy’s room on top of the dresser, and at first Koutarou had thought it went to something among his possessions, like a storage box or a diary. The second thought he’d had was that most kids probably didn’t keep diaries anymore. Akaashi had his notebooks, but none of them had been locked when Koutarou had snuck a peek here and there over the years.

They hadn't been like diaries anyway, much to his chagrin.

More like actual notes that you’d take for class, only detailing the different cases that they’d worked, the occasional lesson plan for a lecture, or excerpts from a book he was reading that he found interesting. Koutarou could tell the latter by the way the words were spelled out carefully, each stroke clear and precise like Akaashi was etching it into his memory through the act of writing it.

As a college student years ago, he’d been equally diligent.

Koutarou recalled some of their first few meetings. He’d been asked to come talk to the folklore students, and after class, Akaashi had been the only person to stay late to ask him questions.

At the time, Koutarou had been glad the lecture was made up of nearly a hundred students, because he hadn’t noticed Akaashi among the crowd until then. If he had, he wasn’t confident he wouldn’t have choked when he was trying to tell them about the _yama-uba_. He wasn’t as lucky in the one-on-one session, that was for sure.

“They’re um, really... beautiful,” had been the most coherent thing to come out of his mouth in that particular conversation. And considering they were talking about a mountain hag, it hadn’t been very factual. Yet, by some miracle, he hadn’t scared Akaashi away with his ineptitude.

Koutarou smiled, running a finger absently over the mystery key.

Years later, Akaashi was still beautiful to him, but he also knew the sides of him that were nurturing, competitive, scathing, and incredibly smart. All of his sides, the good with the bad, and Koutarou hadn’t been scared off either. If anything, his appreciation had only grown. He just hoped that feeling was mutual. When he was in his darkest states of mind, it was pretty hard to see what redeeming qualities Akaashi might see in him. But they were there somewhere. If nothing else, Koutarou believed in the fact that Akaashi wouldn't stay with him if they weren't.

Regardless of it all, he was lucky to have a partner to join him on these adventures. Not many people wanted to get caught up in the occult, but Akaashi had never shied away from it. He was the voice of caution, but that was about it when it came to reservations.

Koutarou frowned down at his palm.

Something in this house had tried to possess Akaashi. Maybe the spirit was just testing the protective powers of his pendant like he’d claimed, but that didn’t make Koutarou feel any better about it.

And even after looking through both the first and second floors, he hadn’t located the cat Akaashi had seen. It could have escaped outside, but that was being optimistic.

Intuition was telling him that he really needed to find the cat. More than likely, it was behind a lot of what was going on in the house. The scroll he had seen in the library made him even more suspicious of what they were chasing.

Bakeneko often had owners they cherished, either while they were cats, or after their transformation. Whoever had lived in the house before clearly had an interest in those creatures given all the paraphernalia decorating that room. If their master had passed on, the spirits probably wouldn’t have wanted to leave the place they’d established as their home, their territory.

And many of them could shift their forms between cat, spirit, and human, making it possible for them to have performed the pranks the Hinatas had endured. In fact, the more he pored over the various threads of information in his head, the more Koutarou was certain he was on the right path.

Something nudged at him then, drawing him out of his thoughts. A burst of energy that ebbed and flowed, unstable, and growing stronger. It engulfed him, sweeping over his body like a wave before spreading further into the house. But as soon as it surged forward, it just as quickly receded, the heat of it tearing away from where it had seared his skin.

Whatever was producing the energy felt uncontrolled. Indecisive and emotional, maybe, which would explain the chaotic nature of it.

Resolving himself, Koutarou hurried in the direction it had stemmed from, which led him to the base of the stairs that accessed the attic. At the top was an older looking door. One that clearly had a lock built into it.

Grinning at the discovery, he climbed the stairs in a few strides and stuck the key in the lock. It fit snugly, the tumblers inside clicking smoothly as they lined up with a turn of the key. He could go in now.

Koutarou opened the door cautiously, taking care not to make too much noise. If he was closing in on the spirit, he didn’t need it disappearing before he had a chance to communicate. Maybe if he got to talk to it, he could make it understand that it needed to move on.

The odds were slim, but he’d try and see how it went.

All in all, the attic was less dusty than he expected.

It smelled aired out, and none of the furniture scattered around that he could see were covered up by sheets, as things in attics usually were. There were chairs and dressers and blankets thrown down on the floor. It looked strangely lived in for a room that was meant to be used as storage, where items went to stay for years without being brought back down again.

This had to be where the spirit lived when it wasn’t causing trouble. The surroundings themselves underlined the fact that whatever it was could manifest as a human. If it were only ever in its regular form, it wouldn't have any need for the trappings of a human life.

Gazing around in awe, Koutarou’s eyes roamed once again over what he could see. Then he stepped forward into the room, catching a broader view of each end of the attic, where the windows were set into the walls. Abruptly, he froze, eyes widening at what came into focus.

The long and lean form of a man standing before one of the windows, looking out of it with his back turned. His very bare back, with all the lines of the muscles cut smoothly into his tan skin, leading down to the base of his spine. There a fluffy black tail sprouted forth, twitching to and fro aimlessly as its owner continued to stare outside. And if he glanced lower....

There was a very shapely backside on display that he couldn’t help but notice. Even so, it elicited a gasp of surprise from his throat, considering it was definitely not something Koutarou had expected to see.

“You’re naked!”

The cat-like man revolved to face him. His expression was equally as flabbergasted as Koutarou’s.

Huffing, he put a hand on his hip and turned all the way around. “No I’m not. I’m in full kamishimo and eboshi, thank you very much.”

“Eh? Why would you wear those together?” Koutarou asked, face scrunching as he tried to picture the outfit.

“Why wouldn’t I - I can wear what I want!” the spirit blurted defensively.

“Well, I guess, but wouldn’t you - and hey! You aren’t wearing anything at all!”

“Maybe I am and you just can’t see it because you’re a bird brain!”

“Hey! I am not a bird brain! And you are naked, I can see your penis!” Koutarou insisted, doing his best to keep his gaze at a respectable level. But well, he couldn’t help that he’d seen it when the spirit had turned around. He hadn’t really thought he was going to get this kind of show when he’d come up to the attic.

“And you’re more concerned with my penis than the fact that I have ears and a tail? What kind of human are you?!”

“I’m a -” Koutarou started, then paused, cocking his head to the side with a little frown. It was probably better that he didn’t say for now. Akaashi was always telling him that holding back information was smarter. That spirits would be scared off if he told them his intentions in being there were to get rid of them.

“And well, it makes perfect sense for you to have ears and a tail if you’re a bakeneko,” he continued matter-of-factly.

“I - wha -”

“That’s what you are, right? I mean, Akaashi saw you earlier - though why he could see you I don’t know - do you like him? He said that things didn’t work like that, but -”

Frowning, the spirit started to stalk forward.

“Yes, I’m a bakeneko. That means I’m evil, right? You should be scared of me, right? So you should get out of my house before I do big evil things to you!” he said, growling as he drew closer.

Koutarou just tilted his head more, his mouth creasing with pity.

The cat didn’t seem evil at all to him. If that’s how things really were, then he would have done worse things to the family living here. He would’ve attacked him to get him to leave, or gone after Akaashi’s pendant harder than he had back then. If anything, the spirit sounded hurt, and maybe a little desperate. Desperate, as far as he could tell, to keep his home for himself.

It was sad, really, because the bakeneko hadn’t done anything wrong. Its home had been taken over by unsuspecting humans. Wasn’t it just natural that it would be upset about that?

“You aren’t evil though, are you?” Koutarou commented. “I talked with the woman, and she said you hadn’t done anything to really hurt anyone. You didn’t even destroy the little girl’s clothes, just messed them up. And the boy said you were friendly.”

The other man looked away, his tail wrapping tightly around his leg in what looked like shame.

“I’m sorry,” Koutarou continued, “but this isn’t your house anymore. You’re going to have to find a new house. The people living here - well - I don’t know what you did, but it really frightened the little girl, and they won’t be comfortable with you here. You’re going to need to find someplace new.”

“It’s not theirs!” the spirit snapped. “It’s ours! He promised, Neko--”

“Neko?” Koutarou repeated in confusion. “Do you mean -”

“Stupid-!” it roared.

Suddenly, the creature lashed out, swatting at him with one paw, coming perilously close. Koutarou steeled himself to stand still and remain calm. _It’s angry, but it’s still good,_ he thought fervently as he felt its presence strike at him.

A faint sharpness raked against his face before the spirit twisted in mid-air, shifting into a black cat in the blink of an eye. The cat then dove across the floor, escaping into the opening of one of the vents. Koutarou could feel its energy growing dimmer as it fled, confirming it was the same he’d felt before he’d come up here.

Once alone, it took him a minute or so to break from his trance, eventually breathing a sigh of relief that the close encounter was over. A hand rose, touching his cheek where he’d been grazed. It felt like a minor scratch.

Nothing compared to what he imagined the bakeneko was capable of. It could have torn him completely to shreds if it had wanted to. He’d had no protections in place, and wouldn’t have had much time to start a chant or spell in that instant it turned on him.

He was lucky that his intuition about the cat had been right that time. But it might not be a second time.

Koutarou took another full breath, letting the tension seethe out of his muscles.

Spotting a mirror atop one of the dressers, he walked over and checked on his face. The skin was broken, but it wasn’t bleeding. Almost like the spirit hadn’t really tried to hurt him. Truly, he believed that. It clearly didn’t want to hurt anyone living in the house either. Only to scare them away.

But even if it was a good spirit, it didn’t belong there anymore. No amount of sympathy could shake him from that conclusion. As bad as Koutarou felt about uprooting it, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t make sure it found a good new home afterward. Somewhere it could roam in peace, and hopefully somewhere it would never be forced out of again.

That was his responsibility, and he didn’t plan on not fulfilling it.

 

**. . . . .**

 

"I uploaded photocopies of all the property records we have for the house here in the archives. There's not too many; before the newest family took over, it looks like it had the same owner for a long time."

"Then that owner would be a good place for me to start," Keiji remarked.

"Probably so. Well, if you need anything else, I'll be up front. Good luck to you."

"Thank you again, Kinohara-san." He gave the librarian a curt bow before heading off toward the row of carousels against the far wall.

Picking one, Keiji sat down in front of the computer and brought up the archive's searching system. There he typed in the property's name. As he waited for it to populate, he settled himself back into the chair, leaning against the straight wooden back and sighing listlessly.

It took several minutes for the search to finish given the connection speed, but eventually it gave him a few entries to choose from. Scrolling around, he found the scans of the property deeds and clicked them open.

Apparently, there hadn't been any existing blueprints of the house, so gathering clues from who had lived there previously was all he had to go on. It would have been useful to have that, given that they didn't know some of the hiding spots the spirit might be utilising as it roamed around the house, but a factual dead end was a dead end.

Keiji pored over the document on the screen.

He recognized the Hinata matriarch's name and signature near the bottom, etched next to two lines that held only one name. The space for the prior owner's signature was left blank, his name printed above and a different person's signature on the witness line below. The family names didn't match. Was it the realtor's signature, possibly? Or some distant inheritor of the property vouching for a deceased relative?

 _Nekomata Yasufumi_. That was the owner's name listed.

He squinted at the name in disbelief.

Surely, it had to be one great coincidence that the prior owner's name was also the name of a spirit type similar to what Bokuto theorized was living in the house. Nekomata and bakeneko were both feline yokai, the former creatures generally deadlier than the latter. If anything, it had to be a bakeneko that they were after. But it was an odd discovery all the same.

Reading on, he found that there weren't too many other relevant details. Square footage, the price of the land, detailed property line specifications - nothing that truly added to the investigation. The last owner's name was his sole lead at the moment, so he'd have to proceed from there if he wanted to locate anything useful.

Keiji exited the scans, tracking back to the search engine. There, he entered the man's name. Nekomata Yasufumi.

Compared to the first query about the house, those terms turned up a plethora of entries, most of which looked to be attached to various novels.

_"'I guess the old guy who lived here before was some kind of... writer?'"_

He remembered Hinata-san telling them that. It seemed this man was whom she'd been speaking of. A writer who had lived in the house years before, who wrote mainly about the occult and whose study had been decorated with all manner of supernatural paraphernalia.

Everything was starting to come together for Keiji, and the more he dwelled on what he knew, the more it seemed like Bokuto had been absolutely correct. If this Nekomata had cared for a cat who had passed over into a demon, or even if he'd cared for one who was already transformed, that spirit wouldn't want to abandon its established home. And it wouldn't be amicable towards strangers invading its territory. Yet instead of lashing out more violently, because it had been looked after by someone human, it made sense that it would exercise restraint so as not to harm one.

If that was truly the case, Keiji couldn't imagine convincing it to leave peacefully. They would have to draw it out and remove it from the house by force.

Relegating the idea to the back burner of his mind, he went back to combing through the other search results. Halfway down the page, one from the village's newspaper caught his attention.

_'Local Author Declared Missing'_

The article went on to detail how after being out of contact with acquaintances for three months, and a welfare check of the house by police, Nekomata had been listed as a missing person. No one appeared to have any ideas about his last known movements, though the police were fishing for any tips that residents of the area might come forward with.

There was a picture along with the clipping. It showed an elderly man sitting in what looked like the garden room of the house, holding up one of his novels for show. Though his face was weathered, replete with lines that showed his years, Keiji couldn't help but notice that his grin gave him a roguish sort of borrowed youth. Vitality beyond the norm. Even if he was getting on in age, clearly this wasn't a man who lacked for energy.

What had happened to him?

Based on the search results, nothing had transpired of the mystery, as there were no more articles among the lot. That, coupled with the fact that the house had been bought by someone else, gave Keiji the impression that he simply hadn't ever been located. Whoever had inherited the house from him hadn't been sentimentally attached to it either, clearly. It was a shame.

A life lost in the shuffle of time, and the only traces left of the man were in the stories that he'd crafted. And, more than likely, a companion of his who was beyond human comprehension.

Keiji glanced over the novel titles he could see, making up his mind.

If for no reason other than curiosity, he'd take a look at the old man's work. The chances of finding any clues within the books themselves were slim, but stranger things had happened.

At least one of the titles stood out to him; a collection of ghost stories. Keiji had the inkling that he'd read it before, but until he got his hands on it, that notion would be hard to confirm. He'd read no small amount of books, fiction and nonfiction, over the course of his training and in his leisure time.

Getting up from his workstation, he scanned around the library, looking at each of the sections' signs until he found the one he was looking for. He made his way over to the rows of bookcases. Every one of them had another placard emblazoned on the end with the letter range of the authors' names that the shelf housed. Moving up the line, he located the "N" row and turned onto it, only to stumble upon an unexpected sight.

Standing a few steps away was the boy from the collision earlier. He had his hand on the spine of one of the books, a contemplative expression shaping his features.

Keiji suddenly felt the weight of the game in his pocket and knew it was the time to make amends. Hopefully just his being there wouldn't scare the stranger away and he could return the cartridge to him.

“Ah, I don’t mean to startle you, but I think you dropped this?”

As he approached, he saw the boy tense up, and Keiji feared he was going to bolt.

Instead, he revolved uneasily, staring nervously back at him. There were countless thoughts that flashed across his face in that moment, but he reached forward to take the cartridge back, murmuring "Thank you," before pointing his gaze toward the ground.

Despite the exchange, Keiji got the feeling that it was taking a lot out of the boy to just stand there. Had he frightened him that badly earlier by jumping out at him? If so, he felt even worse about it. Spooking an innocent hadn't been his intention, and indulging his paranoia had gotten him into this mess. He had only his overactive imagination to blame, and it wasn't proving to be a very good excuse when he saw what had come of it.

“Sorry I surprised you earlier,” Keiji said, stepping back and letting his hands fall to his sides. “I thought - well, it doesn’t matter.”

The boy nodded halfheartedly and took a small step back. Away from him. That decided him. He had to do something to remedy this awkwardness. Make the kid see that he wasn't anything to fear.

Stepping into the vacant space, Keiji touched a hand to the book the boy had been looking at, squashing the frisson of surprise that flickered to life at seeing the author's name emblazoned on the spine.

“Nekomata, hmm?" he began to say, grasping for words that might fashion a bridge between the two of them. "I was looking for this myself. He was a local author, right? Did you know him?”

The boy turned back toward the shelves, standing inert in front of them. It wasn’t clear if he was avoiding him, simply looking at the books, or some third, unknown option. Puzzled as Keiji was while he watched him, he nearly missed the next words out of his mouth.

“He was kind.”

It equated to a whisper, but the words' volume didn’t disguise the emotion in his voice. There was something more to that statement, no doubt about it, but to probe too aggressively seemed like the wrong choice.

“I see.” Keiji reached to grab the book he’d been looking over earlier, flipping it open and scanning through it absently to remove his gaze from the other male. It was clearly unwanted right now. “I think I may have read some of his work before. I teach folklore, you see. At a university.”

The boy murmured something in response, and as Keiji glanced superficially at the first few pages of the novel, he imagined that he felt the other’s gaze on him instead now.

“He’d tell us stories sometimes. Me and my friends.”

That was something new.

“These stories?”

The boy shrugged noncommittally.

Unable to reconcile the statements, Keiji examined the boy again. It was hard to pinpoint his exact age. It could be younger, but he could also be an adult who had features that made him seem otherwise. Either way, he had to wonder about the timeline behind that. Had the boy known Nekomata since he was a child, then?

“But you must have been – well. Younger, then,” he mused, adjusting his words as the calculations checked out. It wasn’t that unbelievable. “Do you know anything about what happened to him?”

The inquiry earned him a heavy shake of the head.

“One day, he was just gone.” The boy’s face crumpled from what he could see of it, an obvious angst settling over him like a cloud.

Keiji was starting to think he and this boy weren’t meant to be on good terms.

Once more, he’d managed to touch upon a sensitive spot for the person he was trying to appear harmless to. Keiji gnawed at the inside of his lip, trying not to let the error get under his skin too much. Sometimes, he just wished he was a little better at intuiting what wouldn’t offend someone.

It was true that sometimes he didn’t care if his observations offended people, but those occasions were either in response to someone he detested or to motivate by lighting a fire under whoever he was with. They had their purpose. But in this moment, he really wanted to clear the air. Both for his previous blunder, and all the little missteps since.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I can tell he was important to you.”

The boy shrunk into himself, hands finding new homes in the pockets of his hoodie and his head ducking down again. Shyness and tough conversational subjects clearly didn't mix well for him.

"Thank you."

Keiji pursed his lips, ruminating even as he prepared to speak.

"Ah. Well. It was nice to meet you," came out fluidly, mundane words that he'd probably used a thousand times over the course of his life. "Though I'm sorry if I took up too much of your time. I'm Akaashi, by the way."

"Kozume."

"What?"

 _Kozume_. The name sparked a sense of familiarity within him, and Keiji was certain he'd seen it not that long ago. In fact, if his first hunch was to believed, it was in the very book he held in his hands. Flipping it open, he began searching for the corresponding characters, eyes trained on the paper as the boy across from him responded.

"Kozume," the boy repeated, his voice firmer that time.

"Ah."

It was on the dedication page, he'd discovered, along with a short and sentimental passage.

Breaking gaze with it, Keiji noticed his utterance had ensnared Kozume's curiosity, as he was now looking across at him, head tilted as if he was trying to read where he had Nekomata's book open to.

So naturally, he read it aloud for the sake of ease.

_"To Kozume and Kuroo, who bring me the joy of spring in the winter of my life."_

There was a slight thump then as Kozume's back hit one of the bookshelves. But he didn't even flinch. His face was wan with shock, and he seemed confused, but bumping into something apparently came second to whatever emotion was sweeping over him then. Keiji spared him one more sympathetic glance over before he felt he had to ask.

"You didn't know?"

Kozume shook his head more forcefully than he had to for an answer, almost as though he could shake loose the thoughts troubling him inside. "I have to go," he mumbled, slightly trembling as he started to turn away.

He was only a stranger, but despite that fact, Keiji felt oddly helpless as he watched him flee, like he was letting someone important slip through his grasp. It was probably the fact that he felt responsible for upsetting an innocent bystander so many times in one day, but still, he wished for an irrational second that he could get Kozume to stay. Have the opportunity to calm him down.

But then reality seeped in, and he brushed the impulse aside. They likely wouldn't meet a third time, so exploring the thought was pointless.

"...Take care, Kozume-san."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Paired Fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7902586/chapters/18051541) | [Tumblr](http://risquetendencies.tumblr.com/)


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